NumerOlogy

If anyone’s still visiting this site and/or following the Orioles after that nightmare of a road trip, you’re one of the diehards. There were a few player moves, and they were none too pleasant. On Friday, the team finally bid a lasting farewell to lefty specialist #32 Jamie Walker, who will have plenty of time to hunt now. He was lights-out in 2007, but Sammy Perlozzo and Dave Trembley wore his old arm out and he’s never been the same. You hate to see a personable, plain-spoken guy like Jamie go, but it was time. It remains to be seen if Matt Wieters will take #32 after a brief grace period, or if he’ll stay in #15. What we do know is that Alberto Castillo is back from Norfolk to take Walker’s spot in the bullpen. The southpaw, who wore #23 last summer, has switched to the #24 that was vacated by the abominable Adam Eaton a few weeks ago.

Friday night also saw the hasty departure of #3 Cesar Izturis, who underwent an appendectomy and was placed on the 15-day DL. Today minor league veteran slugger Oscar Salazar showed up to take his spot, and was handed a #26 jersey. He’d worn #19 during a few cups of coffee in Baltimore last year, and donned #16 in Spring Training.

May the next update be under better circumstances…

Yes, it’s true. He’s finally here. It was a long two years, wasn’t it?

But first, let’s jump back for a second. Thursday night, David Hernandez became the fourth Orioles starter to earn a win in his major league debut in 2009 (following Koji Uehara, Brad Bergesen, and Jason Berken). Word is that no other team has accomplished this feat since 1900. The really good news? There’s plenty more where that came from. It might have to wait until next year, but Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, and Brian Matusz are the real gems in the organization. Hernandez became the sixth Oriole to ever wear #63, and the first pitcher since Nerio Rodriguez (oof). If he sticks around for a while, will he upgrade like Bergesen did? Time will tell.

The outgoing players this week were #37 Chris Ray, who heads down to AAA Norfolk to try to straighten out his mechanics, and #16 Chad Moeller, who will provide catching insurance for the Tides if he clears waivers.

Of course, the most breathlessly anticipated debut took place on Friday, as Matt Wieters crouched behind the plate at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the first time.  He did so in #15, which he wore in Spring Training. (Either Jamie Walker wasn’t keen to give up #32 or he wasn’t asked.) He’s the 21st player to wear those digits in Baltimore. There are some good ones mixed in there (Hoyt Wilhelm and Davey Johnson, most notably), but you have to go back a ways. If you want to keep the hype train rolling, you should probably know that Thurman Munson is the only Major League Baseball player to have #15 retired in his honor (by the Yankees, of course). With all due respect to the late New York catcher, I hope Matt has a longer career and a less tragic ending.

I was at Friday night’s game, and it was overwhelming to hear the thunderous cheers for Wieters when he was introduced pre-game, when he threw out Josh Anderson on a bunt attempt at the beginning of the game, and for each of the four times he came up to bat. He might not have gotten a hit, but he collaborated with Brad Bergesen on an excellent game and, most importantly, an Orioles win. May it be the first of many in the Matt Wieters era.

A brief update in the aftermath of the Birds’ first Sunday win in nearly four months…yes, four.

Lefty specialist and good ol’ boy #32 Jamie Walker was recalled from a minor league rehab assignment; he had spent a month on the disabled list with elbow soreness. He took the place of #62 Radhames Liz, whose next start was to be skipped anyhow. “Rad” had a strong first month in Baltimore, but he’s been putrid in July. He’ll get to spend the dog days of August in Norfolk trying to remember how to throw strikes. Now I’m off to catch the end of the Orioles’ Monday night pasting of those filthy Yanks. How sweet it is…

Geez, I go to the Ocean for a week and things go topsy-turvy in Camden Yards! Since my last site update, there have been eight changes to the Baltimore roster, with #29 Adam Loewen’s shoulder injury signaling more turnover on the horizon. To sum up:

June 26: #34 Matt Albers placed on DL; #26 Fernando Cabrera recalled from rehab assignment at AAA Norfolk. The righthanded pitcher wore #23 in 2007; that number was occupied until recently by Ryan Bukvich (more on him later). Cabrera is the 36th different player to suit up in orange and black this season and the 17th to wear #26 in team history.

June 27: #19 Oscar Salazar optioned to AAA Norfolk; #12 Brandon Fahey recalled from AAA Norfolk. Why have pop on the bench when you can give Brandon another chance to prove that he’s not a major league shortstop?

June 30: #32 Jamie Walker placed on DL; #29 Adam Loewen activated from DL.Well, that was fun while it lasted.

July 1: #13 Alex Cintron placed on DL; #3 Freddie Bynum recalled from AAA Norfolk. I like Freddie as a person, but I’m really not crazy about him as a baseball player. The four-run error he committed yesterday afternoon sure isn’t helping matters.

July 5: #23 Ryan Bukvich designated for assignment; #35 Greg Aquino recalled from AAA Norfolk. Eesh. Bukvich was pretty terrible, but it’s not like Aquino was any better in his first stint in the O’s bullpen. My only question is: why not Rocky Cherry?

While I was away, I did some eBay shopping and picked up an Orioles team set of 1975 SSPC cards. Included in the set was a player I didn’t recognize, Mike Willis (pictured at left). According to the card back, he was a September callup from AAA Rochester who did not pitch in a single game during his time with the team. He’s listed as wearing #53, so I’ve added him to the roster. You never know what you’ll find when you pick up a stack of baseball cards!